About Uganda Investment Authority
Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) is the primary Investment Promotion Agency (IPA) of the Government of Uganda (GoU), responsible for coordinating, encouraging, promoting and facilitating investment in Uganda; and advising Government on investment policy and related matters.
UIA was set up under the Investment Code Act of 1991, which was later amended in 2005, and 2019. The Investment Code Act is the governing law that establishes UIA (in continuance) and sets forth its key objectives and functions.
In executing its mandate, UIA performs many activities like providing information on investment opportunities, issuing investment licenses, assisting investors in securing secondary approvals, assisting in finding joint venture partners, providing investor facilitation services, development of small and medium enterprises, development of industrial parks, making policy recommendations to Government and providing One Stop Centre services to registering and existing investors.
Introduction
One of the objects of UIA, as per the Investment Code Act 2019 (as amended), is to publish and avail periodic reports on the state of investment in Uganda. This Quarter 3 report is significant in the sense that not only does it provide a realistic picture of the state of planned investments for the period January to March, 2020, but also coincides with the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report highlights issues like licensed investment projects, value of planned investment projects, planned jobs, comparisons between domestic investment and foreign investment, top investment sectors, top source countries, etc.
Summary of investment performance
In Quarter 3 (January – March, 2020) of financial year 2019/2020, UIA licensed planned investment, both Domestic Direct Investment (DDI) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), valued at US$ 302.6 (equivalent to UGX1.145 trillion). Comparatively, the Quarter 3 value of planned investments was higher than in Quarter 2 (US$ 186.6 million) and in Quarter 1 (US$ 262.1 million). The planned investments stemmed from a total of 75 projects, estimated to create 7,551 planned jobs.
Table 1: Summary of licensed planned investment for Q3 (January – March, 2020)
| Q1 2019/20 | Q2 2019/20 | Q3 2019/20 | TOTALS | ||
| Licensed projects | Domestic Direct Investment (DDI) | 31 | 24 | 17 | 72 |
| Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) | 52 | 44 | 58 | 154 | |
| Total | 83 | 68 | 75 | 226 | |
| Planned investment (USD) | Domestic Direct Investment (DDI) | 172,727,402.00 | 63,413,043.00 | 21,765,457.00 | 257,905,902.00 |
| Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) | 89,424,989.00 | 123,233,377.00 | 280,850,168.00 | 493,508,534.00 | |
| Total | 262,152,391.00 | 186,646,420.00 | 302,615,625.00 | 751,414,436.00 | |
| Planned employment | Domestic Direct Investment | 3,739 | 2,549 | 1,428 | 7,716 |
| Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) | 3,751 | 5,465 | 6,123 | 15,339 | |
| Total | 7,490 | 8,014 | 7,551 | 23,055 |
- Licensed projects
In Quarter 3, the number of licensed investment projects increased to 75 in Quarter 3, up from 68 in Quarter 2. Comparatively, the cumulative licensed investments for Quarters 1, 2 and 3 of 2019/20 was at 226, up from 208 for the same period in 2018/19. This presents a positive trend.
Table 2: The trend of licensed projects Q1 2018/19 to Q3 2019/20
| FY 2018/19 | FY 2019/20 | ||||||
| Quarters | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
| Licensed Projects | 67 | 61 | 80 | 78 | 83 | 68 | 75 |
1.1 Distribution of licensed projects by sector
The Manufacturing sector registered the highest number of licensed projects (39), which accounted for 52 percent of all the licensed projects in Quarter 3, followed by Construction and Whole Sale, Retail, Catering and Accommodation Services at 9.3 percent apiece.
Table 3: Licensed projects by sector for Q1 to Q3 FY 2019/20
| Sector | Q1 2019/20 | Q2 2019/20 | Q3 2019/20 | %ge for Q3 2019/20 | |
| 1 | Agriculture, hunting, forest & fish | 12 | 13 | 3 | 4.0 |
| 2 | Community & social services | – | 3 | 6 | 8.0 |
| 3 | Construction | 2 | 4 | 7 | 9.3 |
| 4 | Electricity, gas & water | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5.3 |
| 5 | Finance, Insurance, real estate & business services | 5 | 3 | 6 | 8.0 |
| 6 | Manufacturing | 54 | 40 | 39 | 52.0 |
| 7 | Mining & quarrying | – | 1 | 1 | 1.3 |
| 8 | Transport, storage & communications | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2.7 |
| 9 | Wholesale & Retail, Catering & Accommodation Services | 4 | 1 | 7 | 9.3 |
| TOTAL | 83 | 68 | 75 | 100 |
1.2 Distribution of licensed projects by source country
China registered the biggest number of licensed projects (20), which accounted for 26.7 percent of all the projects in Quarter 3, toppling Uganda from the Number One spot it occupied in Quarters 1 and 2 to the second position. India maintained its third position, like in Quarters 1 and 2, with Egypt and Mauritius tied in fourth position with four projects apiece, replacing United Kingdom and Belgium, which came fourth and fifth in Quarter 2.
Table 4: Top 5 source countries for licensed projects (Q1 to Q3 FY 2019/20)
| Q1 2019/20 | Q2 2019/20 | Q3 2019/20 | |||||||
| ID | Country | Licensed Projects | %ge | Country | Licensed Projects | %ge | Country | Licensed Projects | %ge |
| 1 | Uganda | 31 | 37.3 | Uganda | 24 | 35.3 | China | 20 | 26.7 |
| 2 | China | 22 | 26.5 | China | 18 | 26.5 | Uganda | 17 | 22.7 |
| 3 | India | 6 | 7.2 | India | 11 | 16.2 | India | 10 | 13.3 |
| 4 | Kenya | 4 | 4.8 | UK | 3 | 4.4 | Egypt | 4 | 5.3 |
| 5 | USA | 3 | 3.6 | Belgium | 2 | 2.9 | Mauritius | 4 | 5.3 |
1.3 Domestic Direct Investment (DDI) vs. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
FDI saw 58 projects, up from 44 the previous quarter. DDI, on the other hand, declined to 17 projects in Quarter 3, down from 24 projects in Quarter 2.
In percentage terms, DDI accounted for 22.7 percent in Quarter 3, compared to 35.3 percent in quarter 2 – a decline of 12.6 percent. On the other hand, FDI accounted for 77.3 percent, up from 64.7 in Quarter 2 – an increase of 12.6 percent.
Table 5: Comparison of domestic projects and foreign sourced projects for Q1 to Q3 FY 2019/20
| Categories | Q1 2019/20 | Q2 2019 | Q3 2019/20 | TOTAL |
| Local Projects (No.) | 31 | 24 | 17 | 72 |
| Local projects (%) | 37.3 | 35.3 | 22.7 | 31.9 |
| Foreign Projects (No.) | 52 | 44 | 58 | 154 |
| Foreign Projects (%) | 62.7 | 64.7 | 77.3 | 68.1 |
| TOTAL | 83 | 68 | 75 | 226 |
Graph 1: Comparison of domestic projects and foreign sourced projects for Q1 to Q3 FY 2019/20
- Planned investment
The total value of licensed investment projects in Quarter 3 is US$ 302.6 million, equivalent to UGX1.145 trillion. This is up from Quarter 2’s US$ 186.6 million, equivalent to UGX706.6 billion.
Table 6: The Trend of Planned Investments in US Dollars, Q1 FY 2018/19 to Q3 FY 2019/20
| FY 2018/19 | FY 2019/20 | ||||||
| Quarters | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
| Planned Investments in US Dollars | 237,060,005.70 | 345,498,769.10 | 232,802,407.00 | 531,785,993.00 | 262,152,391.00 | 186,646,420.00 | 302,615,625.00 |
2.1 Distribution of planned investment projects by sector
The Construction Sector registered the highest amount of planned investments in Quarter 3 (US$ 144.4 million), which accounted for 47.7 percent of all the planned investments in Quarter 3. This was largely on account of a Chinese investment project worth USD138.33 million, under the specialized construction sub-sector.
Table 7: Distribution of planned investment projects by sector
| Sector | Q1 2019_20 | Q2 2019/20 | Q3 2019/20 | %GE | |
| 1 | Agriculture, Hunting, Forest & Fishing | 59,590,924.00 | 22,243,364.00 | 1,276,779.00 | 0.4 |
| 2 | Community & Social Services | – | 4,191,947.00 | 4,824,813.00 | 1.6 |
| 3 | Construction | 45,068,018.00 | 4,387,617.00 | 144,436,508.00 | 47.7 |
| 4 | Electricity, Gas & Water | 210,000.00 | – | 25,545,000.00 | 8.4 |
| 5 | Finance, Insurance, Real Estate & Business Services | 11,097,000.00 | 4,908,273.00 | 33,900,000.00 | 11.2 |
| 6 | Manufacturing | 136,996,782.00 | 74,175,219.00 | 49,706,477.00 | 16.4 |
| 7 | Mining & Quarrying | – | 25,550,000.00 | 7,300,000.00 | 2.4 |
| 8 | Transport, Storage & Communications | 6,640,667.00 | 46,190,000.00 | 2,090,298.00 | 0.7 |
| 9 | Wholesale & Retail, Catering & Accommodation Services | 2,549,000.00 | 5,000,000.00 | 33,535,750.00 | 11.1 |
| TOTAL | 262,152,391.00 | 186,646,420.00 | 302,615,625.00 | 100.0 |
2.2 Distribution of planned investments by source country
China registered the highest amount of planned investments (US$ 164 million), which accounted for 54 percent of all the planned investments in Q3 2019/20.
However, in Quarters 1 and 2 Uganda remained the Number One source of planned investments (54) worth USD163.9 million, a percentage of 34.0, followed by the United Kingdom (USD53.5 million; 20.6%), China (USD21.7 million;17.2 percent), India (USD17.9 million;12.5%) and Seychelles (11.1 million; 5.9%)
Table 8: Top 5 source countries for planned investments Q2 to Q3 2019/20
| Q2 2019/20 | Q3 2019/20 | |||||
| Country | Amount (US $) | %ge | Country | Amount (US $) | %ge | |
| 1 | Uganda | 63,413,043 | 34.0 | China | 163,969,000 | 54 |
| 2 | UK | 38,450,000 | 20.6 | Mauritius | 53,500,278 | 18 |
| 3 | China | 32,073,555 | 17.2 | Uganda | 21,765,457 | 7 |
| 4 | India | 23,344,508 | 12.5 | Kenya | 17,900,000 | 6 |
| 5 | Seychelles | 11,073,684 | 5.9 | India | 11,115,000 | 4 |
2.2.1 Comparison of Domestic Direct Investment (DDI) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
The number of FDI grew to 58 investment projects, up from 44 investment projects in Quarter 2. The number of DDI, on the other hand, declined to 17 investment projects, up from 24 investment projects in Quarter 2.
In percentage terms, FDI accounted for 77.3 percent of planned investment in Quarter 3, up from 64.7 percent in Quarter 2 – an increase of 12.6 percent. On the other hand, DDI accounted for 22.7 percent of planned investment in Quarter 3, compared to 35.3 percent in Quarter 2 – a decline of 12.6 percent.
Table 9: DDI projects and FDI projects compared for Quarter 3
| Categories | Q1 2019/20 | Q2 2019/20 | Q3 2019/20 | TOTAL |
| Domestic Direct Investment (USD) | 172,727,402.00 | 63,413,043.00 | 21,765,457.00 | 257,905,902.00 |
| Domestic Direct Investment planned investment (%) | 65.9 | 34.0 | 7.2 | 34.3 |
| Foreign Direct Investment (USD) | 89,424,989.00 | 123,233,377.00 | 280,850,168.00 | 493,508,534.00 |
| Foreign Direct Investment sourced planned investment (%) | 34.1 | 66.0 | 92.8 | 65.7 |
| TOTAL | 262,152,391.00 | 186,646,420.00 | 302,615,625.00 | 751,414,436.00 |
- Planned employment
In Quarter 3, planned jobs are estimated at 7,551, down from 8,014 planned jobs in Quarter 2, but higher than the 7,490 planned jobs in Quarter 1 (of financial year 2019/20).
3.1 Distribution of planned employment by sector
The Construction sector registered the highest number of planned employment (2,813), accounting for 37 percent of all the planned employment in Q3. Manufacturing came second with 2,563 planned jobs, with Wholesale and Retail, Cat and Accommodation Services a distant third with 599 planned jobs.
Table 10: Distribution of planned employment by sector (Q1 to Q3)
| Sector | Q1 2019/20 | Q2 2019/20 | Q3 2019/20 | %ge Distribution per sector | |
| 1 | Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry & Fishising | 1,089 | 2,997 | 182 | 2.4 |
| 2 | Community & Social Services | – | 159 | 348 | 4.6 |
| 3 | Construction | 80 | 183 | 2,813 | 37.3 |
| 4 | Electricity, Gas & Water | 97 | – | 386 | 5.1 |
| 5 | Finance, Insurance, Real Estate & Business Services | 299 | 172 | 418 | 5.5 |
| 6 | Manufacturing | 5,519 | 4,012 | 2,563 | 33.9 |
| 7 | Mining & Quarrying | – | 260 | 172 | 2.3 |
| 8 | Transport, Storage & Communications | 214 | 206 | 70 | 0.9 |
| 9 | Wholesale & Retail, Catering & Accommodation Services | 192 | 25 | 599 | 7.9 |
| TOTAL | 7,490 | 8,014 | 7,551 | 100.0 |
3.2 Distribution of planned employment by source country
Chinese sourced projects registered the highest level of planned employment (3,782), which accounted for 50 percent of all the planned employment in Q3 2019/20, followed by Uganda (18.9%), India (5.6%), Kenya (4.1%) and Mauritius (3.5%).
Table 11: Top 5 Source countries for planned employment, Q2 to Q3 2019/20
| Q2 2019/20 | Q3 2019/20 | |||||
| Country | Amount | %ge | Country | Amount | %ge | |
| 1 | Uganda | 2,549 | 31.8 | China | 3,782 | 50.1 |
| 2 | China | 1,455 | 18.2 | Uganda | 1,428 | 18.9 |
| 3 | India | 1,234 | 15.4 | India | 424 | 5.6 |
| 4 | Seychelles | 1,084 | 13.5 | Kenya | 312 | 4.1 |
| 5 | UK | 518 | 6.5 | Mauritius | 265 | 3.5 |
3.2.1 Comparison of distribution of planned employment between domestic projects and foreign projects for the period Q1 to Q3 2019/20
Planned jobs from Domestic Direct Investment (DDI) accounted for 1,428, a drop from 2,549 planned jobs in Quarter 2, a further drop by nearly half from the Quarter 1 figure of 3,739 planned jobs.
On the other hand, planned jobs from Foreign Direct Investment in Quarter 3 rose to 6,123, up from 5,465 in Quarter 2.
Table 12: Comparison of distribution of planned employment between domestic projects and foreign projects for the period Q1 to Q3 2019/20
| Categories | Q1 2019/20 | Q2 2019/20 | Q3 2019/20 | TOTAL |
| Planned employment attributed to domestic projects | 3,739 | 2,549 | 1,428 | 7,716 |
| Domestic projects (%) | 49.9 | 31.8 | 18.9 | 33.5 |
| Planned employment attributed to foreign projects | 3,751 | 5,465 | 6,123 | 15,339 |
| Foreign projects (%) | 50.1 | 68.2 | 81.1 | 66.5 |
| TOTAL | 7,490 | 8,014 | 7,551 | 23,055 |